“If you’re lucky enough to be Irish, you’re lucky enough.”

With St. Patrick’s Day here, I knew I wanted to bake something to celebrate one of my favorite cultures. I was kicking myself a bit since I previously made cupcakes which are, well, practically the most perfect Irish stereotypical culture themed dessert, but thankfully, this fit the bill quite well.

Drinking whiskey straight isn’t something I do often, but cooking with it is phenomenal. It makes everything aromatic, malty, and just richer. Combined with coffee and chocolate, this cake is out-of-this-world in the flavor levels. Topped with more coffee-whiskey glaze, these are borderline Paula Deen level indulgent, but hey, it’s a holiday which automatically means indulging. Which makes it okay…. right?

A holy triumvirate.

MY WALNUTS!

A bit crackly, but the icing covers all sins.

—

Irish Coffee Sheet Cake

Based on the recipe from BHG.

This obviously isn’t ‘authentic’ sheet cake since it’s baked in a 9×13 pan and is a little deeper, but I didn’t have a half-sheet jelly roll pan on hand. So just go with it!

Makes 24 pieces.

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1¼ cups granulated sugar
• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, at room temperature (save the wrappers to grease the dish)
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• a dash of salt
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup Jameson (or good Irish whiskey)
• 1½ tablespoons Espresso powder
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

For the glaze:

• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon Jameson (or good Irish whiskey)
• 1¼ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 to 4 tablespoons brewed coffee
• ½ teaspoon espresso powder

Optional: More chopped walnuts for sprinkling.

Directions

1.) Preheat oven to 350º F with rack set in center of oven. Butter or spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick spray, line with a sheet of parchment paper with edges hanging over, and set aside.

2.) In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together the granulated sugar, butter, ½ cup cocoa powder, and espresso powder until smooth and combined. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract until just combined.

3.) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda, and set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, stir together the milk and ½ cup whiskey.

4.) Working in alternating batches, slowly add the flour and whiskey mixtures to the chocolate mixture, beating by hand after each. Fold in the nuts once everything is combined and pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake 18-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean (no clinging batter). Set aside to cool completely on a wire rack.

5.) Prepare the glaze. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, whiskey, vanilla extract, and coffee.

6.) Once the cake cools, remove the parchment and cut the cake into squares first (the glaze dries hard so it will look nicer if you cut first then glaze). Drizzle the glaze all over them and topped with more chopped walnuts, if desired. Enjoy with more Irish booze of your choice (Guinness, Jameson, or both).

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